Ironing board



B. J. Dl ClLLO Feb. 20, 1962 IRONING BOARD Filed Sept. 5, 1958 FIG. I

7 Mid INVENTOR.

BETTY JEAN D/CILLO BYWVZL ATTOR NE YS United States Patent 3,021,628 IRONING BOARD Betty Jean Di Cillo, 80 Harold Drive, Chesterland, Ohio Filed Sept. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 759,208 2 Claims. (Cl. 38-111) This invention pertains to ironing boards and more particularly to ironing boards of the class which are primarily designed for home use.

The home landress is frequently confronted with a problem when relatively large objects are being ironed. Only a small part of such an object can be supported on the ironing board. The remainder of such an object must be allowed to hang over one or both sides of the board. When the major part of such an object is hung over the side of a board, two problems are presented. The first is that the object tends to pull itself off the board making it difiicult to retain the object in position for ironing and the second problem is that the object is easily soiled.

Several proposals have previously been made to resolve these problems confronted by the home laundress.

Frequently, housewives will spread papers on the floor to protect articles being ironed from being soiled. This does not overcome the weight problem. Some housewives place the ironing board adjacent to an article of furniture, such as a chair, to provide a support for the object being ironed. Proposals have also been made to provide shelves to support the weight. Previous shelves have, however, been cumbersome, diificult to use, and difiicult to store.

Accordingly, the principal contemplation of this invention is to provide a combination of an ironing board and a novel and improved connected shelf which overcomes all of the previously listed problems.

Additionally, the invention contemplates providing an ironing board having a connected shelf which is movable to a storage position generally parallel to the board to provide a compact unit which can be stored in a space corresponding to spaces allotted for storage of previously known ironing boards.

Another and related contemplation of the invention is to provide a novel and improved ironing board having adjustable legs which have a board support position and a collapsed position, a connected support shelf having a work support position in which the shelf is disposed below and in sidewise juxtaposition to the board, and a storage position in which the stored legs are sandwiched between the board and the shelf to retain the legs in the storage position.

The invention also contemplates providing an ironing board having a pair of brackets supporting a work support shelf in which the brackets each include a pivot and means to lock the pivot with the shelf in a work performance position.

A more specialized aim of the invention contemplates the provision of a novel and improved ironing board with an attached shelf in which the attached shelf may be selectively connected to the board so as to be disposed on either side of the board to suit the convenience of the person using the ironing board.

Other contemplated objectives and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a novel and improved ironing board having an attached work shelf showing the board and shelf positioned for use;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the device positioned as in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary end elevational view on an enlarged scale of the device positioned as in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional end view on an enlarged scale of the device when in a stored position and as seen from the plane indicated by the line 4--4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of a bracket hinge shelf support structure on an enlarged scale with respect to FIGURES 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary plan view, with parts sectioned, on an enlarged scale showing a mechanism for locking the shelf in the work position.

Referring to the drawings, an ironing board assembly is shown generally-at 10. The assembly 10 has a flat board 11 on which an objectis supported for ironing. The board 11 is supported by apair of adjustable legs 13. The legs 13 are preferably the type that are positionable to a selected height and are also the type which'may be collapsed against the underside of the board 11 for storage.

A work support shelf 15 is provided. The shelf 15 is connected to a shelf portion 16 of each of two bracket hinges. A pair of bracket hinge board portions 17 are connected to the underside of the board 11. The bracket hinge portions '16, 17 are connected together by a hinge pivot pin 18 to complete the bracket hinge.

In FIGURES 1 through 3 the shelf 15 is shown in a work position. When the shelf is in the work position it is preferably disposed below theboard 11 in sidewise juxtaposition with the board. The shelf 15 is supported in the work position by a suitable lock mechanism, thus holding the shelf at degrees from a natural vertically hanging position. In the disclosed embodiment the lock mechanism takes the simple form of a pair of lock plates 20. Each of the lock plates 20 is attached to the shelf 15 by one of a pair of rivets 21. The rivets 21 serve as pivots for the lock plates 20. Each of the lock plates 20 is notched at 22, FIGURE 6. The notches 22 selectively receive a vertical part of one of the bracket hinge board portions 17 to lock the brackets with the shelf 15 in the work position.

When the shelf 15 is in the work position it serves several important functions. The shelf has as its primary purpose the support of a part of a garment or other object which is being ironed. The shelf also serves as a resting place for dampened and unironed clothes and other cloth objects and for a resting place for such objects after they have been ironed.

In the preferred and disclosed arrangement the shelf 15 is designed to be suspended from either side of the ironing board. It is preferably fixed for positioning on one side, but nonetheless designed so that it may be positioned on the side of the board which is most comfortable for the housewife or other person who normally uses the board. This is accomplished by providing a pair of removable bolts 24 to connect the bracket hinge board portion 17 to the board 11. The bolts 24 are substantially equally spaced from the side edges of the board portion 11 so that the bracket may be connected to suspend the shelf from either side.

The shelf is pivotal to a storage position which is essentially in parallel relationship to the board portion 11. The shelf may be designed so that it rests against the top surface of the board 11 when it is in a stored position. This may be accomplished by making the bracket hinge shelf part 16 L shaped so that the shelf when in a work position is suspended below the hinge pivot 18. The axis of the pivot 18 will be half way between the planes of the work surface of the board portion 11 and the shelf 15 respectively so that the shelf may be pivoted against the board for storage.

In the preferred and disclosed arrangement, the shelf 15 pivots inwardly to be stored on the underside of the board portion 11, FIGURE 4. As will be seen by an examination of FIGURE 4 this provides one of the outstanding advantages of the invention. The legs 13 have a stored .position in which they are collapsed against the underside of the board 11, as shown in FIGURE 4. The shelf 15 may be locked in its stored position by a suitable lock means. When the assembly is in the storage position the legs are sandwiched between the board and the. shelf. Therefore, when the shelf is locked for storage the legs are also locked and accidental collapsing of the assembly when it is stored or moved is prevented.

In the simple and disclosed form the shelf lock means take the form of a hook 27 which is connected to the underside of the board 11 by a pivot 28. It will be recognized that the hook 27, like the lock member 20, may have many modified forms of locks substituted for it, the important factors being the provision of a mechanism which has the. ability to retain the shelf in storage and work positions respectively and selectively.

In the disclosed arrangement the bracket hinge shelf part 16 is disclosed in its simplest form wherein it lies in the same plane whether the shelf 15 is in a work or in a storage position. If it is desired to position the shelf 15 further below the board 11, this may be accomplished by extending the vertical part of the board bracket portion 17 and by providing an L shaped shelf bracket portion 16. This latter modification would permit the shelf to be stored snugly against the legs 13 and nonetheless be suspended in a work position which is further below the work surface of the board portion 11.

While the description of the invention has been detailed, it is believed that it essentially comprises an ironing board assembly having a flat board, adjustable support legs, and a shelf pivotally connected to the board, which shelf has a work position in sidewise juxtaposed relationship with the board and below the board, and. a storage position in which the shelf and board portion are essentially parallel.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, an ironing board member, a plurality of collapsible legs adjustably connected to underside of said board member, said legs having a board support position and a collapsed storage position beneath the board, first and second hinges connected to the underside of the board member, a shelf member connected to the hinges and having a storage position beneath the board and a work supporting position outwardly of and generally parallel to the board member, the hinges each having a pivot spaced from and below the bottom of the board member to permit the shelf member to move from the support position to its storage position, said shelf member being spaced from the bottom of said board member when in the storage position to define a leg receiving space, said legs being disposed between said board and said shelf members when the legs and shelf member are in their respective storage positions, first lock means carried by one of the members and coactable with the portion of the hinge connected to the other member to lock said pivots when the shelf member is in said work support position to releasably hold the shelf member in such position, and second releasable lock means for locking the members in the storage position with the legs disposed in the leg storage position between the members.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first lock means is carried by the shelf member and the shelf member is below the board member when in the work position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 78,642 Briggs June 9, 1868 1,859,361 Gothman et al. May 24, 1932 2,410,534 Trevino Nov. 5, 1946 2,554,446 Nestor May 22, 1951 2,657,485 Crenshaw et al. Nov. 3, 1953 2,708,323 Caddel May 17, 1955 

